The Pact: A UFC Champion, a Boy with Cancer, and Their Promise to Win the Ultimate Battle

In this magnetic memoir, Garbrandt, former UFC bantamweight champion, chronicles how Maddux Maple, a five-year-old boy diagnosed with cancer, inspired him to dedicate himself to his fighting career and God. Garbrandt grew up in the working-class town of Uhrichsville, Ohio, and his childhood was dominated by conflict and violence. In grade school, he remembers, he was in a fight when the other boy’s parole officer suddenly showed up, but instead of intervening, the officer watched. After Garbrandt’s born-again uncle was released from prison and took Garbrandt under his wing, Garbrandt became serious about wrestling. By his early 20s, he was a talented wrestler and occasionally took on a mixed martial arts fight but kept and getting in trouble. Then, Garbrandt’s brother learned of Maple’s remarkable story on Facebook; Garbrandt met the boy and had an epiphany about how the influential people in his life had been leading him to God. In unadorned prose, Garbrandt candidly explains how this revelation allowed him to let go of past anger and provided the focus necessary for finally accomplishing his goal of becoming UFC champion. With brutal scenes of violence studded with moments of grace and revelation, Garbrandt’s passionate story will appeal mainly to fans of mixed martial arts. (May)